FAA Safety - Is My Aircraft Right for Flight?

The Importance of Preflight Preparation

FAA Safety Briefing Magazine
Published in Cleared for Take Off, Nov. 6, 2024

By Jennifer Caron, FAA Safety Briefing Magazine

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the Jan/Feb 2017 issue of FAA Safety Briefing and was updated for this issue.

Republished in the EASA Community to the benefit of safety

Your Choice Your Flight
A compilation of FAA's most popular articles
 

Is My Aircraft Right for Flight?. The Importance of Preflight Prep | by FAA Safety Briefing Magazine | Cleared for Takeoff | Medium
 

Quote: What’s that weird noise? I think to myself as I prepare for departure. I just finished my run-up, ready for take-off, and there it is again — that deep knocking sound — three times now — “knock, knock, knock.” But I just shut this airplane down 30 minutes ago — quick stopover, I needed a break. Now I’m running late, so I skipped the preflight check completely. But I always do a full run-up on every start-up, so it should be good to go without a preflight check, right?

Don’t leave anything to chance. In 2017, when this article was first published, 384 people died in 238 general aviation accidents [in the USA]. In 2022, 358 people died in 222 general aviation accidents. As you can see, the numbers have not changed much over the years. Powerplant system and component failure was the third most common event for fatal accidents, and maintenance errors were not to blame. Inadequate preflight preparation was cited as a contributing factor in many of these accidents.